Automatic piano-player action



Patented Nov. 9. 1920.

J. S. MAXWELL. AUTOMATIC PIANO PLAYER ACIION. APPLICATION FILED aumzs.19:9.

UNITED TATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN s. MAXWELL, or :aIcHMoND, INDIANA. ASSIGNOR ro STARR PrANo comPANY,or RICHMOND, INDIANA, A CORPORATION or INDIANA.

AUTOMATIC PIANO-PLAYER ACTION. I

Application filed August 26, 1919. Serial No. 319,940.

To allwhomit may concern: r

.Be it known that I, JOHN S. MAxweLL, a citizen oLthe United States ofAmerica, residin at Richmond, in the county of Wayne and. tate ofIndiana, have invented certain and useful Improvements in AutomaticPaine-Player Actions, of which the follow ingis a tull, clear, andintact description. In the past for a number of years, upright pianoshave beenequipped with automatic player attachments comprising a, hankof small neumatics operated from v.a suitable windc est through theinstrumentality of a perforated music sheet traveling over a trackerbar. It has been customary to associate the entire automatic layeraction in a single unitary structure w iich is adapted to bejnsertedinto and withdrawn from the. piano case above the 'key board, withoutany change, adjustment or alteration of the piano action or any of itscorrelated parts.

, The pneumatics, usually when ,defiated,

, close, and to the movable. part or leaf is at- 'tached a rod or othersuitable devicewhich,

'ing mainly to contract t in rising, strikes either the piano actionwippens, or the abstracts connected therewith, and thereby lays theinstrument automatically and in e ndently of the keys when played byhand? T Much ingenuity has been expended in efforts to improve thecharacter and functions of such automatic players the problems hehepartsinto the smallest available compass, to improv the leverage betweenthe neumatics an the wippens, to provide for a better tone apd tocheapen and simplify the construction, and I have worked along theselines to develop a bettier form of action than those heretofore use Ihave accordingly devised a player action which is distinguished by the,following novel features, The pneumaties are connected by suitable rodsor wires'with levers pivoted to the frame oithe automatic action, andwhen deflated raise such levers into contact with stops set in shhrtlevers pivoted to the piano abstracts. and having. their free endsresting on a stationary bar, so that when raised by the pneumaties theythrow the wippens and strike the piano strings.

The levers connected with the pnemnatirs normally rest upon cushions onthe stationary members of the said pneumutirs, and have limiting stopsby which their range of Specification of Letters Patent.

movement is controlled. The connections lil' Patented Nov. 9, 1920between said levers and the neumatics a e also adjustable as to length,and the sto s feet adj ustability provided for.

So much of this action as is necessary,"ini now existing as; to theprior art, to an un erstanding of my view of the wide knowledimprovement is illustrated in the accordpanying drawing which shows oneof the" pneumatics and illustrates its relation to" the piano action.

In this drawing A designates a stationary 'part of the player action towhich is secured the upper or stationary leaf B of the pn'e1i---' matic.The movable leaf or element of the pneumatic is designated by the letterC, and for greater rigidity and .clonvenience an arm D is secured to thepart and extends horizontal] and from this depends a brace E secured tothe upper element B. A small block F with a cushioned top is secured tothe said element and affords a seat for a lever G pivoted to the part A.

To the end of this lever is pivotally connected a rod or wire H which isadjustably connected to an arm or extension I from the movable elementC, and on the up er side of the lever G is a projection J whic ,when theplayer action is inserted in place, lies immediately under aistop Kad'ustably secured to a lever L ivoted to the p ano abstract M. The rearen of this lever is rounded or rovided with a rounded projection N w ichnormally rests upon acushioned seat on a stationary bar 0 secured in thepiano case.

This is the construction of each pnevmatic and its correlated parts. Thesaid pnen matics may be in banks, or otherwise disposed, in order tohave the necessary room for performing their allotted ,functions. Thelevers L may be secured to the abstracts at any preferred point. That isto say, they may be above the pneumatics, or below them, and in casethey a re below it is onl necessary to turn the pneumatics over sot atthey yvill pull up instead of push up the abstract ever.

This device has been found to give the most satisfactory results, and tobe greatly super or to others heretofore in use. One of its principaladvantages follows from the marked mechanical advantage secured byprising'ms one of its parts therefoie claim is 1 i I. An automatic pianoplayer action coma, controllable pneumatic having a movable element, alever pivoted to ;the action frame and connected with the said movableelement, in combination with a )iano abstract, a lever pivoted theretowith its one end resting on but novable away from a stationary stop, anda stop securedto said lever and lylng immediately over the leveractuated by the pneumatic. A a n V 2. An automaticpiano player actioncomprising as one of its parts a controllable pneumatic having,' amovable leaf or element,

alever-pivoted to the action frame, a stationary stdp'on which saidlever normally rests,

invention resides, as will now' be ap-.

,a connecting rod between the end of the lever and the end of themovable element of the pneumatic, in combination with a piano abstract,a leverpivoted thereto, and havin one end resting on but unattached to afixe stop, a stop secured to said lever and lying normallyover thepneumatically controlled lever at a point between its fulcrum and pointOfCOIlIIBCtlOH with the pneumatic.

3. The combination with the su port or frame of an automatic, playeraction of a pneumatic secured thereto and having a movable part, a leverpivoted over the pneumatic, a rod connecting the end of the mov ablepart with the end of the lever, a piano abstract, a lever pivotedthereto but free at its ends and adapted when raised to raise theabstract, and a stop secured to said lever over a point in thepneumatically controlled lever between its fulcrum and its point of 45connection with the pneumatic.

I In testimony whereof I hereunto ailix my signature J OHN S? MAX'WELL.

